OPINION:
Everyone expects to fight the next war like the last war. The Allies thought World War I would be a repeat of the Franco-Prussian War — lightning strikes by mobile forces. Instead, they got four years of trench warfare. The Second World War was supposed to be a repeat of 1914-1918. Hence, the Maginot Line. Instead, they got blitzkrieg.
But however the next war plays out, President Biden will leave us unable to win it. Thanks to the president’s “woke” policies, put us in the arena with Liechtenstein, and we lose.
A president who will spend money on almost anything has our armed forces on a starvation diet. A defense budget of $858 billion sounds like a lot. But given inflation and the need to upgrade everything from weapons systems to training, it will buy a hollowed-out force — the weakest since the post-Vietnam era.
The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 index of U.S. military strength says the Army is at only 62% capacity. The Navy barely met its 2022 recruitment goal. Both services reduced qualifications across the board.
The U.S. fleet grew from 291 warships in 2005 to 291 in 2020. In the same period, China’s navy went from 216 ships to 360. According to Heritage, the Air Force’s munitions stockpile does “not support a peer-level fight that lasted more than a few weeks.”
A new ethos infects our military. In the 2019 post-apocalyptic comedy film “Zombieland: Double Tap,” Tallahassee says to the bearded dude he calls Civil War General, “You must know how to fight.” The head of the hippie commune replies, “Sure … poverty, sexism, social injustice.” Welcome Mr. Biden’s next secretary of defense.
As part of the Green Fast Shuffle, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced that by 2030, all military vehicles will be electric-powered. I’m sure there will be plenty of charging stations in the desert. And when we need replacement batteries, China will be delighted to supply them — especially if we’re at war with China.
Mr. Biden’s political generals are obsessed with race. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, nominated to replace Thoroughly Modern Army Gen. Mike Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, wants to limit the number of White male officers in the Air Force to 43%, down from the current 67%. Keep those quotas flying!
How did we win World War II without diversity, equity and inclusion?
But it’s LGBTQ where the progressives who now run our military really shine.
The Navy has enlisted drag queen Harpy Daniels (the stage name of Petty Officer Joshua Kelly) as a “digital ambassador” to help with recruitment. Robert J. O’Neill, formerly part of SEAL Team Six that took down Osama bin Laden, says, “I can’t believe I fought for this bulls—t. China is going to destroy us.” In the meantime, it’s anchors aweigh, my boys, and yo ho ho and a case of Bud Light.
“Inclusiveness” permeates every branch of the service. The Army offers guidance to officers on how to interact with “pregnant men” — biological females who haven’t fully transitioned.
Training material declares that if women object to showering with individuals with male genitalia who think they’re female, it’s their own transphobic fault.
While Beijing prepares for war, we are engaged in a life-and-death struggle over pronouns. The Air Force Academy has banned words including Mom and Dad. How about birthing people and sperm suppliers?
Lt. Col. Bree (formerly Bryan) Fram, co-leader of the LIT Transgender Policy Team, reminds the rank and file, “The use of correct pronouns is an easy way to show care and respect.” And if you fail in this regard, don’t expect to be promoted unless it’s to KP.
In early October, the administration released a new National Security Strategy, which defines what it calls “domestic threats to democracy” as being on par with our foreign adversaries.
In a commencement address at traditionally Black Howard University, President Biden said the greatest threat to our security isn’t terrorism, nuclear Iran, North Korea or China (his piggy bank), but “White supremacy.”
If you protest at school board meetings, support the Second Amendment or the right to life, or vow to keep your gas stove till they pry your cold, dead hands from it — you are the dreaded “domestic threats to democracy.”
None of this is meant to disparage the fine young men and women in our armed forces. But the day may come when they’re asked to make the same choice as the People’s Liberation Army in Tiananmen Square — ideology or human rights.
• Don Feder is a columnist with The Washington Times.
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